25. Killian
We’re both quiet as we walk to the elevator, neither of us saying a word until we get on.
“You know it was someone close to her? They saw a man with her mother. Do you think it was her dad?” Kyrian crosses his arms over his chest, his legs spread wide.
I push the button and the doors shut, then I turn to face him. “I think it was him. And I hate to say it out loud, but I think her mother was in on it. My belief is that they’ve been in constant communication, and she’s been assisting him in hiding at her family’s home.”
“Promise me you won’t make him pay for what he’s done alone. I want to help.”
I can’t believe what he’s saying. He’s never been the one to want to torture, not for the thrill of it like me. We always figured when he came fully into the business, it would be in a different role.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll have you there for every minute of it. Be warned though, Kyrian, I am not gentle or lenient when I’m in my element. It will be gruesome and bloody, so if you can’t handle that, you need to speak now.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to get revenge for our parents and Sunshine.” He looks at me with determination.
“About Cookie...” I start and have to admit, this next part makes me a little nervous. “I need to be honest with you. I’ve suppressed my desire for Elena out of respect for Liam and our parents. But using her the way we intended isn’t what our parents would have wanted. You were right and I’m sorry for not agreeing with you sooner. I fully believe Elena is as much a victim as we are. I want to be with her. If that means sharing her with you, I’m okay with that, because I won’t live without her.”
He looks at me, the corner of his lips turning up in a smirk. “It’s about time you admit what I’ve seen from the moment her picture showed up on that tablet. It’s time we move beyond what happened with Mom and Dad, and stop living in the past. This is the present and we have an amazing woman who needs us.”
I nod in agreement. The elevator doors slide open and we step off, following the signs to the cafeteria. Stepping into it, we see it’s full of people with different little areas set up for food types. We pick the one with the shortest line and wait for our turn to order.
Twenty minutes later, food in hand, we head out of the cafeteria back to our girl.
Our girl.
That sounds fucking amazing. I don’t quite know the logistics of her being with two, possibly three men if we include my uncle, but I’m willing to find out. And fuck those who oppose it.
All I want is for her to open those beautiful dark eyes so I can tell her how much I want her.
The ride up the elevator doesn’t take long, but when we step out, we know something is wrong.
Uncle Liam’s in the hallway, frantically pacing. We take off running, skidding to a stop in front of him.
“What happened?” Kyrian growls loudly.
“She woke up.” He says the words we want to hear, but his worried look tells me there”s more—something he still needs to tell us.
“That’s amazing. Fuck, I can’t wait to see her. When can we go in?” Kyrian’s bouncing with excitement, shaking the sodas in his hands.
“We can’t right now. She’s back asleep. When she woke up, she was frantic, and it exhausted her. She doesn’t remember what happened. Elena—”
“Spit it out, Uncle,” I interrupt, tired of him skirting around whatever is going on.
“Elena doesn’t remember what happened. She doesn”t remember me. She thinks it’s January.”
There’s a lump in my throat and it’s like I’m back in time, in the hospital, getting the news of my parents’ death.
“What do they think is wrong? Will she get her memory back?” Kyrian asks desperately.
“I don’t know. The doctor is with her now.” Just as the words leave his lips, the doctor steps out of the room.
“Mr. Sartori—” he starts, but I don’t let him finish.
“Spit it out, doc. Will she get her memory back?”
“Here’s what I can tell you. She has no memory from January until now. She did wake back up and we’re getting her ready to go for an MRI. After we get the results, I’ll know more and I can give you better answers.”
“So she could get her memory back?” I ask as I step forward.
“Only time will tell. She could get it back today, tomorrow, or it could be weeks. She could potentially never remember the last few months. That’s something you need to prepare for.” The doctor’s face softens, and his brow slightly furrow, before he steps away, heading down the hallway just as they wheel Elena out of the room.
She glances over at us. There’s no acknowledgement of who we are.
“Elena,” Kyrian calls out to her.
“Do I know you?” she asks as they wheel her away. Kyrian’s face falls.
Liam pulls out his phone and steps away from us. His arms gesturing angrily as he talks to the person on the other end of the line. After a few minutes, he hangs up and steps back over to us.
“Who was that?” I ask.
“Edward. He’s coming up here. It appears he’s known Elena for a while now, longer than January. I want him to talk to her to assure her she knows us and can trust us.”
I’ve got to admit it’s a good plan. We step inside of her room and take a seat, waiting for her to return. We don’t know how long she’ll be gone, but I plan to be here when she does.
We’re all on edge as we stand in the hallway waiting for Edward to step out of the room. He’s been in there for about forty minutes now and all we’ve been able to do is pace the halls, scaring anyone who comes into contact with us.
Edward finally steps out of the room, and we pounce on him like a predator after his prey. He holds up his hand stopping us in our tracks.
“The three of you need to calm down.” He makes sure to give each of us a stern look.
“Are we okay to go in? Does she remember anything yet?” Kyrian fires off.
“No, she doesn’t. I did explain to her that you were new in her life, but very important. No, I didn’t tell her how you met, or what you are to each other. I can’t do the latter anyway, because I don’t know that. I’d just tell her stories, remind her of you, and I’m sure her memory will return. Remember what the doctor said; the swelling has reduced, and he feels the memory loss is a trauma reaction. But don’t overwhelm her.”
He doesn’t wait for us to answer, instead, he steps past us and heads down the hallway.
“Edward!” Uncle Liam calls him. Edward turns and looks back. “Why did you tell us to go to the auction? Was it her? Why?”
Edward laughs, running his hand through his hair. “For Elena. And for each of you. I knew the four of you would be good for each other—that you could help each other heal and find love. Was I wrong?”
Without waiting for a reply, he continues down the hallway.
“Is he right, Uncle? Is it the four of us? Do you want to be with her too?” Kyrian asks.
“I do. She fills a void within me that I believed was impossible to fill. She stirs something in me and I’m ready for more.” His voice is somber, his eyes focused on the door to her room.
“Then let’s get in there and remind her of who we are,” I tell them.
Kyrian’s quicker than me and makes it to the door first. He knocks, then opens the door slowly.
“Elena, can we come in?”
“Yes,” her soft voice responds.
He steps in and we follow behind.
She looks so frail lying in the bed, and I notice her wince as she tries to move.
“Do you need anything?” I ask.
“I’m good. I’m sorry, but I don’t remember your names. I guess you know that, though.”
“I’m Killian, this is Kyrian, my brother, and that’s Liam, our uncle. We’re new friends, so it’s okay. We were getting to know each other better, building a relationship with each other.”
“Like together? The four of us?” She raises her eyebrow.
Kyrian lets out a loud roaring laugh as he moves over to her bed, sitting in the chair beside it.
“You were building a relationship with each of us individually, not like all of us together. I love my family, but I’m not in any way attracted to them sexually.” Kyrian gives her a wink.
“Oh. Okay.”
She’s quiet after that and that’s all right. We can do this. I start the conversation with something small: favorite foods. Then we move to other random topics until we’re asking her questions about herself. Using this opportunity to learn more about our girl, things we may not have known, while also hoping it helps jar her memory.
Elena also asks questions about us and we answer the best we can, not wanting to mention the auction to her. She doesn’t need to know how we met just yet.
I watch as she and Kyrian gravitate toward each other and smile. I’m not jealous, not even when he makes her laugh. Instead, I’m happy. Seeing my brother smile means everything.
Liam’s phone rings, and he excuses himself, stepping out of the room to take it. I notice how Elena’s eyes follow him as he goes.
She adjusts herself again and winces.
“Are you okay, Cookie? Do you need some more pain medication?”
She tilts her head, furrowing her brows. “Cookie?”
“Yes, it’s my own little name for you. But you didn’t answer my question.”
“It’s starting to hurt more and I’m tired.” Her eyes droop and I could kick myself in the ass. Instead of letting her rest, we’ve been bombarding her with questions.
Reaching over, I push the button for the nurse. When they don’t answer quickly enough, I do it again, multiple times, until an annoyed voice comes through the speaker.
“Yes?”One word, but you can hear how pissed off she is.
“My girl needs some pain medication,” I bark, giving Elena a wink.
“I’ll let her nurse know.”
“Make sure she hurries up. If my girl has to wait long, hell’s going to rain down.”
They know who our family is, so they best know that’s a promise, not a threat.
Uncle Liam steps back in the room, and I can tell by how his jaw is clenched and the wrinkles marring his forehead that something’s up.
I give him a knowing look and he gives a slight shake of his head.
“Something has come up at work. Killian, can you come with me to handle it? Kyrian, please stay here with Elena.”
“You don’t have to ask. I’m not fucking going anywhere. I’m going to have them bring me a cot to sleep on tonight, so can you bring me back some clothes, please?”
“You don’t have to stay here,” Elena’s weak voice says.
“I know I don’t have to. I want to.” He reaches out and takes her hand in his, squeezing it gently. I almost expect her to pull away, but she doesn’t.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t envious of him. I’d give anything to be the one holding her hand.
“Killian, we need to go,” Liam”s stern voice reminds me.
“Yes, sorry. I’ll be back, beautiful. Don’t run off on me.” I lean over, kissing her forehead, before standing from my chair.
I step over to Uncle, but he doesn’t say anything, just walks past me and over to Elena.
“I’ll be back. If you need anything, pain medicine, water, a shower, you’re hungry, anything at all, just tell Kyrian and he’ll make sure you get it. Do you understand, Little Mouse?”
Her eyes widen, before she lowers them. “Yes, Sir.”
Liam looks over his shoulder and we lock eyes.
Our girl is in there. She’s going to remember us.